Africa’s experiment in a regional approach to security is serious and laudable, but it will take time to build credible capacity. Here are five reasons why Africa is not ready to meet its own security needs – yet.

3.
Political disagreements weaken regional cooperation

Political disagreements among neighboring states weaken regional cooperation. In southern Africa, where the former liberation movements now in government have been reluctant to criticize each other, the region has failed to rein in Zimbabwe’s autocrat Robert Mugabe.

Farther north, a simmering dispute between Morocco and Algeria over the former’s territorial claim to the Western Sahara – which Algeria rejects – has prevented tighter counter-terrorism cooperation between the two most influential powers in the region.